A pretty obscure number based on a long running pop culture conspiracy.

Sometimes my pieces get the blankest of blank stares. Maybe it’s because I’m not very cool, maybe it’s because my soul is in a different time or maybe it’s because I find strange things interesting, I’m not too sure. This one may have gotten the most out of any I’ve ever made, at least in a long while. Once I explained it, this bad boy went over WAY better. It’s not like my work is every super easy to read, but when it’s based on a conspiracy theory from the 60’s, which I found that many people had never heard of, the difficulty increased. I had heard of the conspiracy before, but never paid it much attention. As I was looking for reference images for another project, I stumbled upon the subject and became a bit obsessed.

For the show, I shortened the title to “He was the Walrus”, to avoid making things difficult on the curator. The full title is “He was the Heartless Walrus in the Octopus’ Garden of Strawberry Fields Forever”, which would have been a bear to put on a tiny title card. The title gives a bit of reference to the inspiration for the piece, which is based on the “Paul is Dead” conspiracy.

To keep it simple (which the conspiracy is NOT), I’ll give a quick primer.

It starts in 1966…

- Paul McCartney supposedly dies in a car accident.
- 3 remaining Beatles have to identify mangled body.
- Body is so mangled, he is said to resemble a walrus.
- Beatles bury Paul, hide his death and they find a replacement.
- Replacement found, made to look like the real Paul, but is a fake.
- Fake Paul plays the part, but the remaining Beatles give clues about the truth in music and album covers.

Many will dismiss it as a hoax or simply a bunch of drivel , but I am a believer. The story is too bizarre for it to be ignored or denied. There’s a book (thanks Cardoza for the borrow) and a “mockumentary” (I see it as more of a documentary) that documents the evidence. If you want your mind blown, it’s worth looking into.

Anyhow, my piece ties in various “clues” from the conspiracy. Here goes the breakdown…

- Walrus, pretty obvious.
- Skull being held by the walrus is meant to be a reference to Paul’s death and his transformation into the walrus.
- The number 3. On the walrus’ flipper, there are only 3 claws showing, a nod to the 3 “real” Beatles that remained after Paul’s death.
- Strawberries. In the song “Strawberry Fields Forever”, there is a clue at the end. As the music fades, you wan hear a voice saying “I buried Paul”. Lyrics say the words are “cranberry sauce”, but I don’t buy it.
- The heart. On the Magical Mystery Tour album cover, The Beatles are dressed in animal costumes. Paul is NOT the walrus here, he is the hippo. His costume has a gaping red hole in the front, right over his heart. According to the theory, this is to give a clue to the heartless, soulless fake Paul, or “Faul”.

A really cool twist to this show and the piece was that the person putting the show together is a believer too. Great minds I suppose.